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I think a Turing Machine is an infinite state automaton with the capability that you can remotely access state information. [1]

Maybe someone can clarify whether this is correct.

If you phrase it that way, then it seems more intuitive that the brain could be described as a Turing machine. The definition of a Turing machine is deceivingly simple and cause us to question what we perceive of as complex. The transition function (and the tape) actually make magic happen if you compare it to any "dumb" mechanical or electrical device.



This is correct w.r.t the formalization of Minsky.

Further, there is a conflation among models and implementation from the parent commenter. Minsky propounds in his automaton theory that a machine may be implemented in any way and it is only its formal history of signals and responses to states which determine the machine. In this sense a biological machine made of organic bases can be considered the same to that of gears and another of semi-conducting transistors assuming their states are described by the same histories.

More so, in the same automaton theory any environment which interacts with a machine in itself must be a machine by symmetry. The classification of each is arbitrary for consideration of the states you’re interested in.

The author of the article remains correct as we must be able to model at least one faculty of the mind as Turing complete because we can also compute by the nature of computation itself. This remains useful as then we can project the guarantees of a Universal Turing machine onto that specific faculty of the mind which is Turing complete. This then allows us to explore those novel guarantees of the mind, those which are also of the Universal Turing Machine since by that faculty having the properties of UTM, it is to be considered a UTM, as opposed to having no guarantees.





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